The killjoy army seems to be unstoppable at the moment.
Following news that the government plans to crackdown on "in the home drinking" because a civilised glass of wine with dinner might turn one into an alcoholic, we now learn that the Government pokenoses have intervened to force the cancellation of the UK Dwarf Throwing Championship in London’s Egg club.
Apparently there were ‘elf and safety’ concerns
(For those who don’t know, dwarves clad in velcro are thrown at a felt covered board and the winner is the person whose dwarf sticks longest. The sport originated in Australia. Here in the UK we only invent sports that involve mistreating small furry animals.)
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Comments: 14
I tend to agree with Donald, that it's pretty sick, but then, I just got back from Africa where I "shot" a thousand beautiful wild animals with my camera. However, some game parks still sell licenses to individuals so they can shoot an animal with a high-powered rifle from the seat of a Land Rover. The animals see the LR's every day and have no fear of them, so the lion stands there and the fearless hunter lines up his sights and kablooey! Then he takes the head home and mounts it in his den so that he can regale all his friends about how he stopped this murderous beast at the last second before it devoured him. Now THAT is sick!
At first I was laughing because I thought this was some kind of spoof of some obscure sport... then I googled 'Dwarf Tossing'... I can 't believe this is actually practised and is common enough that one of the references took me to "The Economist" a relatively well respected resource on economics for those who are not economists themselves.
I can see the point of the "tossee's" if they really do choose to be thrown about for the purposes of earning a living... but it's still a pretty barbaric sport ... makes Aussie Rules football look like dodgeball at the primary school...
When I first heard of it a few years ago I was horrified but I thought it was a nine days wonder. Then it stuck around and I saw a dwarf who actually organises the events and I thought OK, its no worse than meat pie eating contests or Yard of Ale championships. None of them are in the same league as domestic abuse, vandalism or forced prostitution.
So as the dwarves are very willing participants I think "let's see the funny side of it."
BTW do you know that "tosser" has a derogatory meaning in Britain? It is the same as "wanker" , originally meanbing "one who practices the sin of Onan" it was later degraded to mean a useless person.
I would not put it high on the list of public outrages. Its difficult to outlaw something in which no - one gets hurt and nobody is forced to do anything they do not wish to.
Ever the voice of reason.
Hunting or fishing for food is one think but killing an African big cat, a British gasme bird or a Georgia wild boar for fun is something that should make us worry about the mental health of the "sportsmen."
Barbaric is a little strong. Bad taste I could agree with
The point about Aussie rules football (rule one - there are no rules; rule two - if you're killing you opponent don't let the referee see you) is that what goes on is intended to maim contestants. With Dwarf throwing, nobody gets hurt.
My fave line? In Carry on Cleo, Kenneth Williams as Julius Caesar after being stabbed by the conspirators: "Infamy, infamy; they've all got it in for me."